outcomes for children and young people not only for this generation but for generations to come. I present the following paper:

ACT Children and Young People's Commitment 2015-2025—Progress update on the implementation—Ministerial statement, 20 March 2018.

I move:

That the Assembly take note of the paper.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Women's and girls' sport

Discussion of matter of public importance

MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ms Lee): Madam Speaker has received letters from Ms Cheyne, Ms Cody, Mr Hanson, Ms Lee, Mr Pettersson and Mr Steel proposing that matters of public importance be submitted to the Assembly. In accordance with standing order 79, Madam Speaker has determined that the matter proposed by Ms Cheyne be submitted to the Assembly for discussion, namely:

The importance of sports grants for supporting women's and girls' sport in Canberra.

MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra) (3.44): I am delighted to be able to speak today about the importance of sports grants for women and girls in the ACT. Let me start by painting the scene for you: the average salary of a male AFL player in this country is $265,179 a year. Our top tier female AFL players earn $20,000 a year. Australia's elite male soccer players are living quite comfortably on an average salary of $100,000 per year. Our women's league players are not so lucky; they will be working second and maybe even third jobs to stay afloat, with soccer only netting them $17,400 a year.

Some of our stars do at least get enough to live off, with women in cricket recently having a big win, pushing their salaries from $79,000 to $179,000 in a new deal. There is still cause to pause for a moment, though, when you see how much the male cricket players are earning—$278,000. That is an additional $100,000 per year for doing the exact same job. For female dominated sports the situation is just as grim. An average player on the Australian netball team receives $43,000 per year, even though the Diamonds have won 10 world championships since 1963 and finished runner-up the other three times.

Sadly, the pay gap we see in sport reflects the different value that has historically been placed on men's and women's sport. The issue extends far beyond whether our elite sportswomen are getting paid enough, which they are not. By undervaluing elite sportswomen, a very public message is sent that sport is a man's domain. It discourages women from pursuing sport at a professional level, since it is unlikely to be a financially viable full-time career option. In turn, important opportunities to promote sport and recreation for all women are missed. We all know the social,